Remco Evenepoel stayed in Nice after finishing second overall in Paris-Nice, no doubt reflecting on his second place overall as he completed two laps of the 34km hilly Monaco to Nice time trial that will crown the winner of this year’s Tour de France in July.
The Belgian had a successful Pais-Nice on his stage race debut in France but also had some regrets. Many considered him the strongest rider in the race but he finished second to Matteo Jorgenson after opting not to chase when the American attacked on stage 6 with Brandon McNulty and Mattias Skjelmose. Evenepoel lost 52 seconds to Jorgenson that day.
Evenepoel and Jorgenson got away during the final stage around the Nice hills on Sunday, dropping all their rivals in a show of force and climbing ability in the rain-soaked Nice hills. Evenepoel won the stage and Jorgenson took the yellow jersey from McNulty.
Evenepoel finished second overall at 30 seconds, with McNulty third at 1:47, also taking the green points jersey, the polka-dot mountains jersey and the combativity prize. Only the yellow jersey and the stunning Paris-Nice winner’s trophy eluded him.
“For sure I should be happy,” Evenepoel said after Paris-Nice, trying to see his glass half-full.
“I think it was a very high level amongst the GC contenders. The only GC guys not here are Tadej (Pogacar), Jonas (Vingegaad) and Juan (Ayuso).
“The main goal was to win a stage and get a podium spot. I finished second on a stage, won a stage, was fourth on two others and then we were unlucky in TTT (due to the rain). It’s a super positive week for us and it’s perfect to keep parking with this morale.
“The only regret is Friday’s stage of course. I lost my GC hopes there and the first place complete. They’re mistakes that will not be made any more.”
Evenepoel admitted that Jorgenson was the deserved winner. On Sunday the American led Evenepoel for much of the final 40km, using his local knowledge of the roads to ensure they gained time on McNulty and the other chasers.
“The two of us were the strongest men in the race this week. On Friday he made the right choice and I made the wrong one. So nothing to complain about,” Evenepoel said.
The Tour de France is still four months away and Evenepoel showed he is building well for the expected showdown with Pogacar, Vingegaard and Roglic.
He will next race at Itzulia Basque Country (April 1-6) facing Vinegaard and Roglič. Pogacar will be absent as he rides Milan-San Remo and then next week’s Volta a Catalunya before preparing for the Giro d’Italia. It will be fascinating to see Evenepoel clash with Vingegaard after the Dane’s impressive victory at Tirreno-Adriatico, while Roglic cleary has some work to do and needs more time to get Bora-Hansgrohe working as he wants to.
"It is not yet the best Remco, but I’m gradually getting there," Evenepoel said of his form.
“I’ve still got to make a step up. The Basque Country and the Ardennes classics are still coming, so it is only normal that I’m still on the rise.
"We made the choice not to do an altitude training camp this spring, that will happen before the Tour, so I can be happy with how I feel even without altitude training. There were a lot of riders at Paris-Nice who had been at altitude."
Evenepoel has already seen the opening Italian stages of the Tour de France after a visit to a wind tunnel in Milan in January and studied the gravel-packed stage 9 around Troyes during the winter.
On Tuesday he is expected to study the hilly 20th stage from Nice to the Col de la Couillole depending on the weather and the risk of snow and rain. Both Paris-Nice and Tirreno were raced in winter conditions, with spring only expected to merge in the area for the weekend and Milan-San Remo.
Evenepoel will not ride Milan-San Remo but head to his Spanish home near Calpe for another block of training.
